


et amor pax vobis

by mairimm



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Gen, I Tried, Light Angst, M/M, Not Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, kinda compliant but i changed it so idk, this is my first fic ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:28:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24168838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mairimm/pseuds/mairimm
Summary: Scorpius and Albus are finishing off their fourth year after defeating Delphi. Albus is discovering some new things about himself. Scorpius is oblivious... but not really heheEvery chapter will be based on a song that I have in my playlist :)previously titled "scorbus in songs". current title loosely translates to "peace and love for you".
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter
Comments: 6
Kudos: 71





	1. On My Own

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter is based on "On My Own" from Les Mis
> 
> "without me, his world will go on turning"

Albus and Scorpius ran into a deserted classroom, Scorpius slamming the door behind him.

“I can’t quite believe I did that,” Scorpius choked out, after catching his breath. 

Albus looked up at Scorpius. His eyes were shining, his blond hair completely messed up. Albus felt heat creeping up his neck and shook his head, forcing a smile onto his face.

“I can’t quite believe you did that, either,” he said, giggling in spite of himself. 

“Rose Granger-Weasley. I asked out Rose Granger-Weasley!” Scorpius looked giddy, almost in awe of himself and what he had just done. Albus felt his heart swell with affection for his best friend, but there was another feeling there, too. A feeling that, for some reason, made him want to slap the living daylights out of his cousin.

Albus ignored it. _I’m just protective of him, he is my best mate, after all._ However, he couldn’t bite back a sarcastic comment.

“She said no,” he said, with a tinge of bitterness. 

Scorpius looked at him, surprised. He had never heard Albus speak that way before, not to Scorpius. He shook it off, cracking a joke instead.

“But I asked her. I planted the acorn. The acorn that will grow into our eventual marriage!”

Albus’ face hardened. “You are aware that you’re an utter fantasist.”

“And I’d agree with you - only Polly Chapman did ask me to the school ball…”

“In an alternate reality where you were significantly more popular. A different girl asked you out-”

Scorpius cut him off, trying to ignore Albus’ harsh tone with more banter, “Yes, logic would dictate that I should be pursuing Polly, or allowing her to pursue me, she is a notorious beauty after all, but a Rose is a Rose.”

“You know logic would dictate that you’re a _freak?_ ” Scorpius’ face fell. Normally a comment like that would be funny, coming from his best friend, but it just felt mean in this instance. He didn’t respond this time and just listened to what Albus had to say.

“Rose _hates_ you!” 

Scorpius didn’t know what to say. He looked at Albus, who was avoiding eye contact, face flushed with anger and embarrassment. 

“You know,” Albus started, but stopped himself. “I- I think I’m gonna head back to the dorms. I need to cool off.” He walked quickly towards the closed door, flung it open, and disappeared down the corridor.

“A- Albus…” Scorpius started, but Albus was long gone.

Scorpius sat down at an empty desk, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Albus had never gotten so angry at him before, not even when they were in alternate dimensions. They had been giggling and having fun just moments before, but then Albus just snapped. And why had he been _blushing_ so much?

Footsteps sounded down the corridor, and Scorpius tried to wipe the worry off of his face. Rose Granger-Weasley rounded the corner into the classroom and stopped short when she saw Scorpius sitting alone.

“Hi,” she said, a small smirk on her face. “This is only going to be weird if you let it be weird.”

Scorpius sighed in spite of himself. “Received and entirely understood.”

“Okay. ‘Scorpion King’,” Rose said, before realizing how distraught Scorpius looked. “Wait, are you alright?” she asked, her face falling. “Where’s Albus?”

“He said he was going back to the dorms,” Scorpius said sullenly. “He blew up at me, and I don’t exactly know why…”

The smirk on Rose’s face came back with a vengeance, and she didn’t even try to hide the glint in her eyes. “Well, I’m sure he’ll come around eventually. He’s Albus. He _loves_ you,” she reassured him. “I’m rooting for you, by the way.”

With that, she turned around and headed back down the corridor, not giving Scorpius a chance to respond.

Scorpius knew she was trying to make him feel better, but now he felt even more confused than before. _She’s rooting for me? Why did the look so smug? Wait, did she say Albus_ loves _me? No, no. She meant it in a friendly way. He loves me as a friend… right?_

* * *

Albus stormed down the corridor, wiping his eyes furiously. Why did he have to say those things? Now Scorpius would hate him forever. He had ruined everything.

Albus didn’t want to admit it, but he knew exactly what had made him get so angry. He had known it since Scorpius told him that he would spend the return of eternal darkness with him. And Albus had felt the same. He always had. There was no one else like Scorpius in his life, not even his family. _Especially_ not his dad. _Merlin._

Albus went straight back to the dorms, burying himself in his bed so that no one could see him. He didn’t know what he was going to do with himself, but he knew he had to stay away from Scorpius until he figured it out. Besides, _without me, his world would keep on turning._


	2. Sunflower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Potions class brings some new things to light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is based on Sunflower by Harry Styles
> 
> "I've been trying hard not to talk to you"

It had been two days since their quarrel, and Albus still hadn’t spoken with Scorpius. He slept in and skipped breakfast, never stayed at meals for longer than necessary, and went to sleep as soon as possible. 

Albus knew why he felt this way, and he knew there was no way to get rid of it. He was hopelessly in love with his best friend. His _straight_ best friend. He hated being without Scorpius, but at this point, being around him would just cause more damage. 

On the third day, Albus got out of bed, preparing himself for another day. Today was a potions double period, and Scorpius was his partner. Luckily, Albus had managed to corner Polly Chapman and ask her to be his partner for the day. It had taken quite a lot of convincing, but since her current partner was in the hospital wing, she had agreed. 

Albus walked into potions and immediately took a seat next to Polly. Scorpius entered soon after, and upon seeing Albus with someone else, his face fell.

Scorpius looked around for an empty seat and caught Rose’s eye. She waved him over, and he smiled gratefully as he sat down next to her.

“Albus is still mad at you, huh?” Rose asked.

“Yes, unfortunately,” Scorpius said. “I haven’t even spoken to him since… the _incident._ ”

“Well, have you thought at all about what I told you?”

“Yes, I think about it all the time,” Scorpius admitted. “ But I have no idea what you meant, and I’d really appreciate it if you would tell me.”

“Well-” Rose began, but was cut off by Professor Slughorn.

“Hello, students, and welcome back,” Slughorn announced. “Today we will be looking at a very powerful potion known as Amortentia. Does anyone here know the properties of this potion?”

Rose’s hand shot into the air, and she began talking without being called on. “Amortentia is one of the strongest love potions. If you drink it, you will immediately become infatuated with your heart’s desire. It smells of whatever you find attractive.”

“Very good, Miss Granger-Weasley, that is correct. However, it would do you good to wait until you are called on, next time,” Slughorn smiled.

Rose’s face flushed and she sunk a bit lower in her chair. Scorpius smirked, and looked across the classroom to see Albus’ reaction to this. 

Albus was staring at the two of them, with a confused and slightly hurt expression on his face. Scorpius made eye contact, and Albus blushed and looked away. 

Slughorn continued talking to the class about how to make the love potion, and Scorpius took the opportunity to whisper to Rose.

“What were you going to say to me before class started?”

Rose smirked. “Maybe today’s lesson will help you figure it out.”

“Wha-” Scorpius started, but their conversation was, once again, cut off by the professor. 

“Alright everyone, collect your ingredients and begin brewing your potions!”

Rose winked at Scorpius (making him blush) and got up to get the ingredients from the cupboard. 

* * *

Albus was in a state of shock. As Polly was grabbing the ingredients, Albus had stayed at the desk, staring in front of him without actually focusing on anything. Why was Rose with _Scorpius?_ A million questions rushed through Albus’s mind. Were they together now? Had Rose been _flirting_ just then? What had they been _doing_ these past two days? _Ugh._ Albus didn’t want to know the answer to that last one. 

Polly sat back down beside him, shaking him from his thoughts.

“So are you going to help me make this, or will you just sit there while I do all the work?”

“I- I- don’t,” Albus started, then shook his head. “Yeah, sorry. Let’s do this.”

Polly rolled her eyes. “Are you excited to find out what your true love smells like?”

“Yeah,” Albus lied. He already knew what he was going to smell.

* * *

“How many rose petals do we need?” Rose waved her hand in front of Scorpius’s face. “Scorpius, stop staring at Albus and help with the potion.”

“What?” Scorpius startled. “Oh! Oh, yeah, sorry… we need four petals,” he said, looking through his textbook. 

“Well,” Rose said, smirking while sprinkling the petals into their cauldron, “I think we’ve finished our potion.”

Scorpius looked into the pot, seeing a bubbling, pinkish-pearl mixture. He covered his nose and leaned back into his seat. 

“Aren’t you going to smell it?” Rose asked.

“I- I don’t know. I’m a bit scared.”

“Here. I’ll do it first,” Rose leaned over the cauldron and breathed deeply.

Scorpius looked at her expectantly. “So…?”

Rose smiled softly to herself. “It smells like a burning candle, and my favorite ink to write with,” she said. “So, I guess I like writers.”

 _I’m not a writer,_ Scorpius thought. _I hate writing things._ He wasn’t surprised that Rose wasn’t attracted to him, but instead of feeling disappointed, he felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest. _That’s strange._

“Well, I suppose it’s my turn,” Scorpius said, wafting some steam into his face.

“What is it for you?” Rose asked expectantly.

“Er… It smells like the dungeons, and soil. It also smells kind of like when me and my mum used to plant sunflowers.”

Rose leaned on the desk, putting her head in her palm. “So not bread?” she giggled. 

Scorpius flushed a little and shook his head.

“Does it smell like anyone you might recognize?”

Scorpius blushed even more and glanced over at Albus, who seemed to be having a hard time with Polly Chapman.

“Uhm, yeah… it does,” he said finally. 

Rose just smirked again and turned back to the cauldron. 

* * *

Albus was fuming. He didn’t understand how Rose could go from hating someone so much to being so up close and personal. He had _seen_ them blushing and giggling. They were practically meant for each other.

No. He couldn’t let Rose take Scorpius just like that. He had to do something.

After class, Albus strode up to Rose in the corridor.

“May I talk to you?”

Rose glanced at her group of friends, who waved her towards Albus. “Alright,” she shrugged. 

“What the _hell_ was that?” Albus hissed. “You’ve hated Scorpius since forever. Don’t you dare lead him on.”

“I wouldn’t do anything of the sort, cousin,” Rose smiled sweetly. “He and I are just friends. Besides, I’m not the one who’s been avoiding him for three days straight.”

“Oh, of course, he would go cry to you,” Albus rolled his eyes. “And don’t act like you weren’t flirting with him, with all your smiling and laughing.”

“Sounds like _someone’s_ jealous,” Rose said. “We were just being friendly. And neither of our potions smelled like each other, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Albus blanched. “What?”

“You heard me. Mine smelled like candles and ink. I'm fairly sure Scorpius lied to me about what his smelled like, but he kept looking at you.”

Albus turned a deep shade of red. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“O- okay then.” Albus started to walk away.

“Albus, wait,” Rose stopped him. “You need to tell me, why have you been avoiding Scorpius? He’s really hurt.”

Albus sighed. “I need to sort out my feelings for him. I know how I _feel,_ but I don’t know how to deal with them. I don’t want to hurt his feelings, so **_I’ve been trying hard not to talk to him._ **”

Rose nodded solemnly. “I know how you feel. Just know, Scorpius is upset, and he needs you.”

Albus was speechless. He hadn’t meant to hurt his best friend. “Alright,” he nodded. “And thank you.” Albus turned and walked down the corridor, thinking of what to do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so exhausted lol
> 
> thanks for reading, kudos and comments appreciated as always


	3. Lovefool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two boys are all sorted out with their feelings, now they just need to talk to each other.
> 
> TW: references to su*cide and anxiety attacks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is inspired by Lovefool by the Cardigans
> 
> ~No quotes, just the general feel of the song, I guess~

That night, Albus stayed up, his curtains pulled tightly around the bed. He  _ needed _ to confess to Scorpius tomorrow, or at least apologize for his behavior. Albus couldn’t imagine his life without Scorpius, so he knew avoiding him had been a mistake. 

_ What if he doesn’t forgive me? What if he hates me forever?  _ Albus hadn’t even begun thinking about how Scorpius would react to Albus coming out, and when he realized this, Albus knew he wouldn’t sleep until the next night at _ least. _

Accepting his fate, Albus relaxed out of his hunched state - he hadn’t even realized how tense he was - and rolled onto his side. He knew in his heart that Scorpius was kind and would never leave Albus, but his mind didn’t seem to get the memo.

Well. Even if he couldn’t sleep, he might as well rest his eyes for the inevitably stressful day tomorrow. 

In the bed beside him, Scorpius was having the same dilemma. He knew. He didn’t know how, or why, he just  _ knew. _ He was in love with his best friend. He supposed that the Amortentia fiasco and Rose had helped him see it, though he didn’t know how Rose had figured it out so quickly. She had always been a resourceful girl. 

Scorpius sighed, and unconsciously rolled over to face Albus’ bed. 

Well. Even if he couldn’t sleep, he might as well rest his eyes for the inevitably stressful day tomorrow. 

* * *

As Scorpius woke up groggily the next morning (it turns out he  _ had  _ been able to get to sleep), the first thing he noticed was that Albus’ bed was empty, the first time it had been in days. 

Scorpius’ surprise at this fact led to confusion, and almost to panic, but not before one of their roommates, Clive, spoke up.

“He already went to breakfast.”

Scorpius blinked up at Clive, who had seemingly noticed Scorpius staring at Albus’ empty sheets.

“W- What?”

“He left already. I can tell you’re about to freak out, so stop.” The tall boy rolled his eyes and continued putting on his robes. “He woke up at the crack of dawn, got ready - incredibly  _ noisily, _ by the way, I can’t believe he didn't wake you up, too - and I can only assume he went down to the Great Hall.”

Scorpius didn’t answer, his mind already flitting around to the things Albus could be doing.  _ Did he run away? Oh, Merlin, has he killed himself?  _ Scorpius knew that these ideas were ridiculous, but he couldn’t help but think them, given the current situation. 

By the time Scorpius had finished his internal panic attack, his roommates had finished getting ready and the dorm was empty.

Pulling himself away from his thoughts, Scorpius rushed to get dressed and practically ran out of the Slytherin dorms. He wanted to get to breakfast as soon as possible, just so he could make sure that Albus was there. So wrapped up in his plan, he didn’t even notice Rose rounding the corner and smacked right into her.

They both fell to the ground, Rose’s books spilling out of her bag.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Scorpius scrambled to pick up the books, and handed them to Rose once they had both stood back up.

“It’s fine,” Rose assured him. “Why are you in such a hurry?  _ Oh,  _ you’re going to talk to Alb-”

Scorpius cut her off, blushing furiously. “Yes, I am. Would you keep it down?”

Rose waggled her eyebrows. “Sure, whatever you need to help you through this  _ incredibly tough crusade- _ ”

“Okay! You can help by shutting up!”

Rose giggled, and they continued walking down to the Great Hall.

* * *

__ As they walked into the Great Hall, Scorpius’ eyes instantly found Albus, who was sitting in his usual spot - well, before they had fought - and was looking incredibly anxious.

Scorpius looked down at Rose, expecting her to say goodbye and join her friends at the Gryffindor table, but she was looking back at him with fire in her eyes and a smirk on her face.

“Don’t worry, I have a plan.”

Rose confidently strode over to where Albus was sitting and plopped herself down directly to his right. She beckoned at Scorpius, who shyly shuffled over and sat on  _ her _ right, forming somewhat of an angst sandwich, with the two feuding boys as bread and Rose as the filling.

“Hey, Albus! How is your day going so far?” Rose smiled at the brunet, her eyes sparkling and her voice sounding much too chipper. 

Albus eyed her warily. “What are you doing, Rose?”

“I’m just striking up a conversation with my beloved cousin! Is that so wrong?”

“ _ Yes, _ considering how much you’ve ignored me all my life,” Albus retorted.

“We just had a conversation yesterday!”

“A conversation that centred mainly around  _ him,”  _ Albus said, gesturing at Scorpius, “and where you were pressuring me into asking him out!”

Albus stopped himself before he could dig himself into an even bigger hole. He was blushing furiously, and when he looked up at Scorpius, he was surprised and somewhat relieved to see that he looked the same. 

Rose’s grin widened. “ _ Oh _ , look at that! I believe Penny is calling me over right now! I’ll talk to you two later!” Before anyone could protest, she stood up and walked over to the Gryffindor table, where absolutely  _ no one  _ was calling her over. As he watched her leave, Scorpius couldn’t help but think she had become somewhat of a madwoman.

Scorpius pulled his eyes back to Albus, who was now staring at his plate of food, still incredibly red in the face. 

Scorpius knew his friend was hurting, and all he wanted to do was to hug him, but he knew that right now was quite possibly the worst time for that. Instead, he opted to be as comforting as possible.

“Albus, wha-” Scorpius was about to ask Albus what was going on, but before he could finish his sentence, Albus dropped his fork and whisked himself out of the Great Hall. Scorpius found that he couldn’t seem to do anything but stare as his best friend ran away once again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had writer's block for the past couple of weeks, and I found myself very unmotivated to write anything
> 
> I am currently working on another story, and I'm having the same problem there
> 
> however, once I started writing I got really into the story and thoroughly enjoyed myself
> 
> yay!


	4. Somebody That I Used to Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpius has had enough of this bs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is based on "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye
> 
> "But you didn't have to cut me off"

_ I hate her. I hate her, I hate her, I hate her… _

Albus stormed through the halls. Why had Rose done that? What was  _ wrong  _ with her? Albus had been so prepared to set things right with Scorpius, and then it had all been ruined. What had made Rose think that outing him like that was okay?

As Albus entered the Slytherin dungeons in a huff - the second time this week - he realized just how hopeless all of this would be. Going to classes today seemed to be the least important thing on his mind.

* * *

  
  


“Scorpius!”

The blond boy turned around. Rose was running towards him with an excited look in her eyes.

“Are you heading to dinner?” Rose slowed as she approached Scorpius, her smile faltering when she saw the depressed look on his face. “What’s wrong? Did your talk with Albus go okay?”

“There was never a talk. You know why? It was because of you. You scared him off.”

Scorpius seemed incredibly ticked off, rendering Rose speechless. She had never seen Scorpius this angry - and weirdly, determined - and she hadn’t even thought of what her actions might have caused. 

“Scorpius, I…” she trailed off, not knowing how to defend herself. 

“It’s fine. I’m not really angry. Please just try to mind your own business next time.” Scorpius stepped back from her. “I’m going to the dorms now, I need to fix this.”

Scorpius practically flew down the corridor. Albus hadn’t been in any classes today, and he was genuinely worried. While Scorpius was hungry and didn’t want to miss another meal (he had skipped lunch that day out of pure anxiety), Albus was and always would be his top priority. 

* * *

Albus was at the top of the astronomy tower. He sat at the very edge of the floor, where part of the railing had broken off. His legs dangling over the edge, Albus knew that if he were to be startled or doze off - and he was exhausted, he hadn’t slept for days, after all - he would almost certainly plunge to his death. Somehow, he didn’t seem to care. 

Sighing, Albus leaned back and rested his head on the dusty floor. He and Scorpius’ relationship was doomed. Despite knowing that the trainwreck at breakfast was ultimately Rose’s fault, he couldn’t help but blame himself. If he had just had the  _ guts _ to confess his feelings to Scorpius, if he had only- 

Albus’ thoughts were interrupted by the astronomy tower’s door banging open. Frightened, Albus sat up and looked behind him. An out-of-breath Scorpius stood in the doorway, his cheeks pink and hair messy. 

“Oh, thank Merlin,” Scorpius sighed, seeming incredibly relieved. “You weren’t in your bed, you weren’t in classes… I thought you had run away again!”

Albus, though happy to see that his friend still cared about him, wasn’t in the mood for hysterics.

“You know I would never do that,” he said, turning back to watch the night sky. 

The stars were especially bright that night, and Albus could clearly identify Orion’s Belt. He had never been all that good in Astronomy, but the three bright stars in a line always stood out to him when he was stargazing.

Looking out at the tiny lights speckling the night sky, Albus sort of wished he had paid closer attention in Astronomy, boring as it may be. Stars were actually quite beautiful.

Albus’ thoughts were cut off as Scorpius sat down next to him, slinging his legs off of the edge of the tower.

“Albus, you need to talk to me.” 

Scorpius, surprisingly enough, didn’t sound tentative or nervous; he sounded more firm and determined than he ever had before. Albus found that the new attitude was strangely attractive. 

“I don’t think you need me to tell you what’s going on.”

“You would be correct, Albus, but I’d still like you to just come out and say it,” Scorpius now sounded exasperated.

Albus could feel Scorpius’ eyes on him, and eventually turned and made eye contact with the blond-haired boy.

“I like you. No. Not like.  _ Love _ . I love you. At least I think I do,” Albus started rambling, his heart beating out of his chest. 

Although it was endearing when Scorpius rambled, Albus wasn’t sure he returned the sentiment, and so decided it would be best to just end the sentence.

“There. I said it, are you happy?”

Scorpius’ eyes were staring right into Albus’, and he stayed silent for a moment.

“Yes, I’m happy,” Scorpius said finally, turning back to look at the stars.

“Really? Because you sound incredibly angry.”

“I  _ am  _ angry, Albus,” Scorpius looked at Albus pointedly.

Albus’ heart sank.  _ Of course _ . He _ never  _ should have confessed. Scorpius was straight, and now he would hate Albus forever.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Scorpius continued, “And I’m not mad that you’re gay or that you like me, in fact, I’m fairly sure I feel the same.”

Albus looked up at Scorpius, shocked. Where was he going with this?

“I love you too, but that doesn’t excuse what you did to me, Albus. You made me think I was going insane. I had no idea why you were ignoring me, and I felt just as depressed as I did in that other dimension. Except this time, you were avoiding me  _ of your own accord. _ And then you run away from me this morning and skip all your classes, what was I supposed to think?”

Albus was speechless. Had he really hurt Scorpius that badly? 

“ _ You didn’t have to cut me off. _ But you did, and I was more hurt than ever. I thought I had lost my best friend.”

“Scorpius, I…” Albus still had no words to defend himself.

“I know, Albus, you were hurting. But did you ever stop to think that maybe  _ I _ was hurting too?”

Scorpius took a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair. Albus just stared at him, mouth moving but no sound coming out. 

“As much as I would like to kiss you right now and make up, that’s just not going to happen. We both need a little time to cool down and  _ truly _ figure out our feelings. Is that okay with you?”

It took Albus a moment to register that Scorpius was asking him a question, and once he did, he slowly nodded.

“I... Y- yes,” Albus said shakily.

Scorpius’ face softened a bit, and he leaned over and placed a small peck on Albus’ cheek before standing up.

“I’ll talk to you later,” he said, walking out of the Astronomy Tower.

“O- okay,” Albus said quietly, still dumbfounded.

Once Scorpius had left and shut the door behind him, Albus pulled his knees to his chest and curled up in a ball in the middle of the Astronomy Tower.

_ Fuck. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I really hate how in so many fics, person A shuns person B, or person A screws around in person B's business, so I had Scorpius stand up for himself and be the incredibly-attractive-and-self-loving boi he is! yayyyy
> 
> And hey it's not necessarily bad that Albus is an angsty boi, but if I were in Scorpius' position, I'd get tired of it real quick


	5. Just the Two of Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is based off of "Just the Two of Us" by Grover Washington Jr.
> 
> Again, just the general feel of the song, no quotes. Also, rain. I love rain.

Rain smattered against the windowpanes of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, matching Scorpius’ mood perfectly. 

Now that he thought about it, why  _ did _ it always rain when things went wrong? It was like the universe, or whoever was in charge of it, knew exactly how he was feeling and wanted to relate to him, or something.

Or something… 

_ Why am I thinking like this? _ Scorpius thought to himself. He was  _ not  _ a philosophical person. That being said, last week had been one of the most emotional weeks of his life, which was saying something. Every teenage boy was bound to have moments like these, but he still couldn’t help but think that he was being singled out, that all the drama was happening to  _ him.  _

Everything had gone wrong after that night in the Astronomy Tower. To his credit, Albus had taken Scorpius’ words to heart and had steered clear of him, but Scorpius was beginning to feel lonely. 

He wanted, more than anything, to have his friend back. But he just didn’t know  _ how.  _ How to approach him, how to start the conversation… Scorpius had no intention of apologizing, but he was beginning to think that it was the only way to get Albus to like him again, nevermind all of the…  _ crush _ stuff.

“Mister Malfoy? Mister Malfoy!”

Scorpius was shaken out of his thoughts by the professor, quite irritatedly, calling his name.

“Um, what? Sorry,” Scorpius said hurriedly, “What did you ask?”

Professor Marillene, the tall, dark-haired - and, to be honest, much, much younger than most faculty at Hogwarts - witch was nearly every boy at this school’s favorite professor. 

Scorpius suspected she was in her early twenties, but of course, it could be her magic doing its work.

He had never felt as attached to her as the other boys in his year did (probably because he was  _ gay _ ), but he did recognize her skill and overall empathy towards her students. She was kind and understanding, but incredibly strict when it came to situations like the one Scorpius was in right now.

So, when he looked up to see Professor Marillene looking sternly through her glasses at him, his heart sank.

“You were asked to share the answer to problem five on your homework, though you clearly weren’t paying attention,” the witch quipped. “Do tell what you were thinking about.”

“I, uh…” Scorpius’ eyes flitted around, looking for an excuse, “the rain was just distracting me, sorry. I- I really like rain…” he trailed off. Nobody in the room would buy that excuse, certainly not his attentive teacher. 

Marillene, however, seemed to be kinder - or more stupid - than Scorpius gave her credit for. 

“Well, don’t let it happen again,” she said, then turned on her heel and made her way back to the front of the classroom. “And please see me after class.”

There it was. Of course she didn’t buy it, and now Scorpius would have to pay for his “crimes”.

Marillene’s statement registered a collection of giggles and “ooh”s from the rest of the class. 

Scorpius put his head in his hands, failing to notice Albus staring worriedly at him from his seat in the second row.

* * *

  
  


After class, Albus resisted the urge to confront Scorpius. Well, maybe “confront” wasn’t the best word, but it was all Albus could come up with.

Despite everything that had happened between them, Scorpius was his best friend, and Albus knew him better than anyone. Whatever Scorpius had been thinking about in class, it was obviously eating him up, otherwise, he would have been paying attention.

As for Professor Marillene, Albus was slightly worried about how she would handle it. Still, Scorpius was one of the best students in their year, and the professor knew that. So hopefully, she would go easy on him.

Albus opted to stay outside the classroom door and listen, just to be safe. Nobody else would have any interest in listening, so Marillene probably wouldn’t use any silencing charms.

Albus idled outside the classroom, watching people file out and nodding politely at some of his acquaintances. 

As Rose left the room, her brow furrowed and she opened her mouth to say something before thinking better of it. Ducking her head, she quickened her pace down the corridor. 

Watching her, Albus felt a pang of guilt in his stomach. Despite all of their differences and everything she had done, Rose was his cousin, and Albus loved her. Still, he couldn’t help but think that distancing himself from her, at least for now, was the best thing to do. 

Returning his attention to the task at hand, Albus watched from around the corner of the doorframe as Scorpius slowly and begrudgingly made his way to the front of the classroom. Soon he was out of Albus’ sight, and Albus was forced to use his ears to observe the scene.

“So, Scorpius. I didn’t want to totally embarrass you in front of your classmates, so please take this opportunity to tell me why you were slacking off.”

Professor Marillene’s cool, stern voice entered Albus’ ears, and he winced. Scorpius was no good with criticism, even if it was constructive. This was going to be rough.

“Ah, well, thank you for considering my reputation at least,” Albus heard Scorpius say shakily. “I, um…”

Albus once again resisted the urge to jump in. Scorpius was definitely struggling, but… No. It wasn’t Albus’ place.

“I hope it’s alright if I don’t tell you exactly why, but I’ve been having an incredibly stressful few days,” Scorpius finished, somewhat weakly.

Scorpius never had been and might never be good with those superior to him. Still, Albus gave credit where credit was due. Scorpius, although having a shaky voice and demeanor, was really very articulate when he wanted to be.

“I’ll respect your privacy,” Marillene said, her voice seeming to soften. “Though, may I ask, is it friendship troubles?”

“Wh- what do you mean?” Scorpius’ voice became apprehensive.

“Calm down, you don’t need to answer if you don’t want to. I simply noticed that you and your friend, Potter, don’t seem to be getting along very well lately.”

Albus was impressed. Marillene could be a mind healer, or a “therapist”, as Muggles called them. She seemed to be skilled in calming people down, though Albus couldn’t see whether her words were actually working on Scorpius. 

Still, she had also been observant enough to notice that the two boys were feuding. Well, either she was observant, or Albus and Scorpius were just incredibly obvious.

“Ah- Um, yes, we’re in a bit of a rough patch right now,” Albus heard Scorpius respond. “B- but I realize now that it’s gotten out of hand, and that my studies are more important. If it doesn’t sort itself out soon, I’ll let it go.”

Albus’ heart sank. Did Scorpius really think more of his studies than his best friend? It wasn’t exactly  _ surprising _ , but it was still a bit jarring to hear. 

Albus wasn’t mad, though. Just because he didn’t think much of school, didn’t mean Scorpius felt the same. And like he had promised, Albus would leave Scorpius alone until he was ready.

Albus pulled himself off of the wall he had been leaning on and began to head down the corridor. Before he could take a step, however, he heard Professor Marillene’s cool voice.

“No.”

Scorpius voiced Albus’ thoughts.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Scorpius, academics are definitely a priority that can’t be ignored, but so is friendship. Whatever is going on between you two, I know it will work out, because I’ve seen your relationship. You’re inseparable, and you love and need each other.”

Albus flinched a bit at that last sentence and reddened, despite there being no one around.

The professor continued in a calm and caring voice.

“You need to focus on fixing your relationship, and if it takes slacking off a bit academically, that’s alright. You are an incredible student, and I know you’ll be able to make up for any lost time.”

Scorpius seemed to be speechless, as was Albus - although he hadn’t been talking in the first place. Marillene noticed this, and Albus heard her chuckle.

“Still, that doesn’t mean I’ll give you any special treatment. Like I said, you’re a great student, so you won’t need my sympathy in that regard.”

“Th- thank you, professor,” Scorpius stumbled on his words.

“Thank me for what? You aren’t getting any lee-way, I’m just a good listener!” The professor’s voice was playful, but both boys knew her words rang true.

“I… Thank you- I mean, um, okay!”

Albus smirked at Scorpius’ rambling. It was very endearing, but it probably wasn’t helping him with the professor. 

Scorpius seemed to know this, as Albus heard him picking up his bag and walk briskly towards the door.

_ Wait. Shit. Towards the door.  _

Frantically, Albus stepped away from the wall and started walking down the corridor, because maybe if his back was facing Scorpius, the blond wouldn’t notice it was him?

“Albus? What are you doing?”

Albus whirled around. 

“I, uh, I wasn’t listening or anything! I was just, uhm…” Albus trailed off lamely.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. 

“Uh, I should go, I have tons of homework, and-” Albus stopped talking as Scorpius began walking towards him and grabbed his arm.

“You never do your homework,” Scorpius said softly as he began dragging Albus to - Albus didn’t know where.

Apparently, determined and weirdly attractive Scorpius had returned, and Albus wasn’t complaining. Still, as he was being dragged to who-knows-where, Albus found it funny that when in these situations, the two boys’ roles reversed. Scorpius became the angry and dogged one, while Albus became a nervous, stammering mess. It was odd, but again, Albus wasn’t exactly complaining. 

As Scorpius strode through the halls with Albus stumbling behind him, Scorpius began peering through the small, circular windows on every classroom door, checking for an empty space. 

Finally, they came across a deserted room, and with a simple  _ Alohomora,  _ Scorpius flung open the door, pulling Albus inside.

_ Merlin, _ Albus thought, but kept it to himself, at the fear of ticking off Scorpius.

He leaned against a desk while Scorpius stood in the center of the room with his arms crossed. 

“I know you were listening, so what do you think of it?”

Albus looked up at Scorpius, not knowing what to say.

“I, uh, I think it’s very admirable how dedicated to your studies you are…”

“She said that I should try and sort out my issues.”

Albus stayed silent, not wanting to say anything wrong.

“What do you think about that?” Scorpius obviously wanted to get something out of Albus and was walking slowly towards him.

“I… Agree with her?” The statement came out as more of a question as Albus became nervous.

Suddenly, something snapped within him. Albus  _ was _ tired of this role reversal. It was cool - and kind of hot - at first, but now he was getting a bit annoyed. 

“What do you want out of me here?” Albus straightened his posture and looked Scorpius in the eye, despite being much shorter. 

The two boys were merely inches apart, and at this close of a distance, Albus could see Scorpius’ shoulders trembling. His hands were clenched into fists to hide their shaking, something Albus recognized as something he had done often when facing his father, and as Albus inspected Scorpius’ face, he saw that the boy’s eyes were a bit watery.

“Scorpius…”

Suddenly, Scorpius’ resolve broke. He collapsed onto a desk, burying his face in his hands. Tentatively, Albus walked over to Scorpius, trying to read his best friend’s emotions.

“Albus… I- I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have done this, and I tried to put on a brave face but I couldn’t, and I think I just freaked you out more, and-”

“Woah, woah,” Albus said, doing his best to be comforting. “Don’t apologize, don’t second-guess yourself like that…”

“Wh- what?” Scorpius looked up, his eyes glistening despite there being no tears.

“I’ll admit, I was a bit depressed for a while there, and then I got confused by your new demeanor,” Albus said, and then seeing Scorpius’ worried face, continued, “But it was good! I mean, I think that taking a little break was a good opportunity to think about everything, and then your new confidence was-”

Albus cut himself off before he could screw up the conversation.

“It was what?” Scorpius questioned.

“Uh, it was good, too, I mean… It was… Attractive?” Albus said the last word quietly, not wanting to make Scorpius uncomfortable.

Albus squeezed his eyes shut. Yeah, Scorpius already knew that he was interested, but it was still… Awkward.

So when incredulous laughter filled the room a second later, Albus felt relieved and terrified all at once. Opening his eyes, Scorpius had stood up from the desk and was now standing in front of Albus once again. 

“So that means you still like me?” Scorpius sounded very amused, and Albus didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. 

Scorpius could be laughing in relief, or he could be laughing because he was so disgusted with Albus, that a positive reaction was the only thing keeping him from blowing up.

Still, the laughter didn’t  _ sound _ mean… And honesty was the best policy, after all.

“Y- Yeah, I guess it means I still like you…”

“Thank  _ Merlin! _ I seriously thought I had scared you off!”

“How are you so carefree right now?” Albus was astonished at how well Scorpius was handling things, considering he had been freaking out just moments before.

“Oh, I’m not! I’m just laughing because if I stop, I think I might die,” Scorpius was now bouncing on his toes, looking anywhere but at Albus.

In the spur of the moment, Albus instinctively reached up and grabbed Scorpius’ face, tilting it down to look into each other’s eyes.

“Please don’t be stressed, and please don’t feel like you need to hide your feelings around me. You didn’t do anything wrong, and I swear that nothing’s messed up. At least, not from my point of view,” Albus added as an afterthought, thinking about how he had screwed up a few days ago.

Scorpius seemed to relax a bit, but Albus still didn’t let go, not wanting to interrupt the moment.

Just as Albus was beginning to question his actions and had resolved that maybe, it  _ was _ a good idea to remove his hands from his friend’s face, Scorpius grabbed his hands, leaned down and quickly pecked Albus on the lips.

Albus’ eyes widened in surprise, and both boys’ faces turned extremely red.

“Ah, shit, that wasn’t the right move at all,” Scorpius muttered, half to himself, half as somewhat of an apology to the other boy. 

Scorpius pulled away from Albus and ran his hands through his hair. Meanwhile, Albus stood, shocked.

“Y- yes, it was,” Albus said, not thinking of the consequences. Reaching up, he grabbed Scorpius’ face again, pulling him down for another kiss.

Scorpius stiffened, but quickly began returning the gesture. Not knowing what to do with his hands, he eventually settled for placing them on Albus’ hips, while Albus entwined his fingers in Scorpius’ hair.

It was amazing, and Albus didn’t want to stop, but he knew they still had some unfinished business. 

Pulling away Albus looked into Scorpius’ flushed face, taking in his mussed hair and glistening eyes. 

“Does that clear everything up?” Albus asked teasingly. “I still like you and I don’t think I could ever stop.”

Scorpius’ face broke into a wide grin, and he looked giddy with joy.

“Good, ‘cause I feel exactly the same.”

Albus tentatively took the other boy’s hand, and smiled bashfully when Scorpius squeezed it back. 

As they sat in comfortable silence, looking out the window of the classroom, Scorpius was surprised to see that it was still raining after all that time.

Maybe rain didn’t always signify things going wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wowee, this was the last chapter!  
> i've never written a kiss scene before, so lemme know if you liked it/ways i could improve. also, the ending was heckin cliche but i like it anyway.  
> thank you to everyone who left kudos/comments, they all made my day/week/month (dang, i've been writing this for awhile lol)
> 
> also holy heck i just realised this chapter is longer than any other chapter i've written?? dang

**Author's Note:**

> eee thanks for reading, kudos and comments appreciated!
> 
> I'm writing this as something to do while quarantining. its been fun to write so far, and I hope its fun to read :)
> 
> I will do my very best to update at least once a week. this fic is not completed, but I have a road map of where I want it to go
> 
> please feel free to give critique on my writing


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